Culture Clash: D.C. and Chicago

Since I’ve been in D.C. for a little while and met a lot of folks attending events and writing for DCBeer, I’ve learned more about the beer and brewing scene here. I grew up and went to college in Michigan, and then I spent a few years in Chicago before arriving here. While in Chicago, I volunteered for the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and worked as a brewer at a brewpub in Lincoln Park.

I’ve noticed some differences between Chicago and D.C. since moving here, and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to discuss them. I see D.C. as a beer town on the upswing, and looking at Chicago, as an established beer city, might (or might not, as you’ll see below) have some clues as to where things might be headed for the District.

The Impact of Size

The first difference you obviously notice between D.C. and Chicago are their respective sizes. For the purposes of this discussion, I’m not including the metro areas of Chicago or D.C. – just the cities themselves. Discussing population size i